Vote Yes Toolkit

Vote Yes to the Constitutional Convention (AKA “NY CON CON)

In the November 2017 election, the people of New York State will vote on whether they support convening a State Constitutional Convention. Citizens Union vigorously urges New Yorkers to vote YES. We firmly believe that New Yorkers must stand for a democracy worthy of its promise. A Constitutional Convention provides a once in a generation opportunity to “open” the State constitution and make much-needed reforms to improve the performance of our State government, strengthen the integrity of our political institutions and reform our broken 20th-century voting and electoral systems.

33 delegates in the 1967 convention had no previous governmental experience. In fact, the body of delegates included a farmer, a clergyman, a UN official, four media professionals, and five professors. (Source: New York Times)

Citizens Union is opposed to the “double-dipping” of elected officials in a Constitutional Convention and advocate for the end of that practice, by an amendment that requires State legislators to vacate their seats if elected as delegates and limit accruing of pensions for all government officials. (Source: Citizens Union)

The New York State Constitutional Convention is necessary.

Amendments are constantly stalled on the floor of New York State Legislature.

We need a convention of delegates that reflects the modern day communities of New York State.

We will be working with an online platform to democratize the process for discussion of the New York State Constitutional Convention

The last convention in 1967 was not called by New Yorkers, it was called by the legislature.

Though Citizens Union supported a convention in 1967, the organization changed course, in the interest of the people of New York, by opposing the proposals which packaged both good reforms and undesirable changes in one “take-it-or-leave-it” ballot question. The voters agreed and turned down the proposed Constitution.

Tool #2: Addressing Critics.

The potential costs of the convention are overblown.

“A 1973 book from the League of Women Voters noted that $800,000 was spent on a preparatory commission and $10 million was allocated for the convention itself. Henrik Dullea, a SUNY trustee who wrote a book about the 1967 convention, thinks there were some additional costs, but doubts expenses topped $15 million.” (Source: POLITICO)

Labor Rights are not at risk.

With the strength of union membership in New York State being the strongest in the United States, it is doubtful that the population of the State would vote to eliminate the right to unionize and bargain collectively.

Citizens Union greatly values the fundamental rights and protections provided in New York State’s constitution,

including many that provide basic freedoms analogous to those provided in the U.S. Constitution, as well as additional rights and protections in such areas as labor, education, the environment and care for the needy. Citizens Union would not support any effort to weaken or eliminate those valuable rights and protections. (Source: Citizens Union)

Public Support for a New York State Constitutional Convention is strong. New York State voters support 55 – 30 percent a Constitutional Convention to consider changes to the State Constitution, according to a Quinnipiac

Tool #3:Get to know your teammates.

Tool #3: Memes, graphics, and more for you to share with your networks.

New York Says Yes – visit the website, download images for your Facebook page and dive into educational overviews.

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Vote Yes for a New York State Constitutional Convention by Citizens Union is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Based on a work at http://citizensunion.org.